It’s a poo-nado, a poo-nami, or just a poo-storm. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a rare underwater event that most people would do their best to avoid.

Not Canadian photographer Keri Wilk. Last year, he was diving with giant sperm whales off the coast of Dominica when he witnessed the massive whale evacuation. He wasn’t just an onlooker, he was caught up in the massive movement.
Wilks has just released his photos.

He tells As It Happens host Carol Off, “If you held your hand in front of your face you wouldn’t be able to see your hand any more because the water was so thick with the faecal matter.”

Wilk says he’s seen whales poo before, but never like this. The mammal created a swirling storm of excrement by flipping on its side and flapping its tail. Wilk says it looked like a defence response that’s never been documented before, “Sort of like an octopus would release ink to confuse and distract a predator.”

Here’s a picture of the photographer, Keri Wilk, who captured the pictures of the poo-storm.